Citizen proposes strict water, septic and development limits for Volusia County charter

Catherine Pantay told the Volusia County Charter Review Commission at a public listening session that the county charter should be amended to strengthen environmental protections for the aquifer, limit potable‑water lawn irrigation, and require stronger review of large developments.

Pantay urged a ban on "watering lawns with potable water," adoption of landscaping standards that require no irrigation, and systems to direct treated wastewater inland so it can be filtered through native vegetation and sand before recharging the aquifer. She also proposed septic‑system standards and a fiscal‑sustainability analysis tool to assess the long‑term infrastructure costs of urban‑service area expansions and rural development.

Pantay requested that "all developments that are large developments, say maybe more than 3 structures on a piece of property, should have to go to council" rather than be handled administratively by the planning and land‑development review committee. She also asked for mandatory east‑side county meetings and a supermajority requirement for the county permit commission to dispose of or change the use of county protected lands.

The commission did not take formal action on the proposals during the listening session. Mark Watts, commission chair, said staff will compile comments from listening sessions and that county legal staff will advise the commission about state preemption and other limits on charter authority. Pantay's remarks were part of public comment and will be added to the record for commissioners' consideration at future meetings.